Georgia reports nearly 700 new coronavirus cases Wednesday. Take a look at 24-hour trends
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported nearly 49,000 COVID-19 cases in its 3 p.m. update Wednesday. Here are some key takeaways:
- Cases: 48,894 (+687 new cases in 24-hours). There were fewer newly reported cases than Monday’s total, but higher than every day last week, excluding May 31.
- Deaths: 2,123 (+21 deaths in 24-hours)
- Current hospitalizations: 815 (-13 from Tuesday)
- Tests: 574,400. This number includes 91,688 antibody tests and 482,712 viral tests. However, these totals do not account for tests that are not reported through the state’s electronic lab reporting system.
Muscogee County reported 673 cases Wednesday (+36 in 24 hours). Bibb County reported 481 (+9) cases Wednesday. Fulton County (4,688) reports the highest number of cases in the state.
- Cases per person: Echols (3149.41), Randolph (2650.28), Terrell (2539.27), Early (2434.46) and Hancock (2404.49) counties have the highest number of coronavirus cases per person in the state.
- The health department is not reporting how many Georgians have recovered.
DPH moving to once-daily update
The Georgia Department of Public Health began updating its coronavirus statistics once a day at 3 p.m. June 2.
The once-daily updates give the health department more time to process and confirm lab and case reports. Some of the new changes will include update charts as well as a summary of antibody and viral testing that includes the number of tests performed, the number of positive tests and the percentage of positive tests for each type, according to DPH.
“These changes are designed to make the dashboard more user-friendly while providing an accurate picture of COVID-19 in Georgia,” the department said in a statement.
Protests could cause a rise in COVID-19 cases
Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey told reporters Tuesday there’s a risk COVID-19 cases could rise in the wake of statewide protests against police brutality and racism.
“This situation is no different than any other situation,” she said. “When you have this many people gathered together in close proximity, you run the risk of viral transmission.”
State health officials are setting up sites around the Atlanta area for first responders in the city to be tested. Gov. Brian Kemp also encouraged all protestors to get tested as soon as possible.
“We want to make sure the pandemic doesn’t spread because of this,” Toomey said.
New cases in Georgia over time
For a full county-by-county breakdown, visit the state health department’s website.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 4:42 PM.